Legal Experts Join Linux Foundation Team

Two legal experts have recently joined the Linux Foundation team: Karen Copenhaver, a specialist for Open Source licenses and Andy Updegrove, an expert for open standards.

The experts will give members of the non-profit organization legal advice on Linux-related topics, help to protect the Linux brand, and help to defend against litigation.

Both legal experts are well-known in the Open Source community. Copenhaver is a partner in a Boston law firm that specializes in technology and intellectual property. She was the Vice President of Black Duck Software where she will be joining the board. The US company specializes in software license management services and products.

Updegrove is the founder and a partner in the Boston law firm Gesmer Updegrove and made a name for himself with blogs on Open Source and software standards on the consortiuminfo.org website, his sharp criticism of Microsoft's proprietary OpenXML standard, and his role in the controversial decision by the State of Massachusetts in favor of the free Open Document Format (ODF).

In the next couple of months the legal team will be inviting other Linux Foundation members, including representatives of major players HP, IBM, Intel and Novell, to a strategic conference that will last for several days.

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